


Obligatory Winter-Themed Shipfic

by Talliara



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Plotless Fluff, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-24
Updated: 2011-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-27 23:45:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/301403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talliara/pseuds/Talliara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short fic featuring tedious outdoor labor, holiday food, snow, mentions of Christmas, and two trolls. But mostly tedious outdoor labor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Obligatory Winter-Themed Shipfic

**Author's Note:**

> I took a break from the two WIPs I've been agonizing over for the past few months to just make myself write something less stressful. This is what I came up with. It occurred to me that it was far too long to qualify as a drabble, and that while it may not be my magnum opus, I'd spent enough time on it and I liked it enough to stick it up here. As a note, I do not mean to presume that all the kids celebrate Christmas- but I am making the assumption here that Jade does, so I wrote what I was familiar with. And hey, that's one more holiday for everyone to celebrate, in addition to their own, so why not?

They unanimously decide to spend their first holidays together at Rose's house in New York. There were two main reasons for this: Ms. Lalonde threw the best holiday parties, and Rose had been foremost insisting that the troll's first human holiday experience should follow at least _some_ of the usual holiday conventions. As it was, Jade had provided the Christmas tree (a juvenile coconut palm) and it is presently bedecked with more chintzy alcohol-themed ornaments (contributions of Mr. Strider) than is strictly necessary for her mother's tastes.

Ironically enough, the weather for Christmas Eve is shaping up to be the most traditional Christmas snow storm anyone has seen in over a decade. While John and Rose mull about the kitchen making preparations for dinner, a gathering of dark, heavy clouds hang in the winter twilit sky. The first gentle sprinklings of the storm make their appearance against the gloomy backdrop of the surrounding forest.

Terezi and Karkat huddle together in front of the kitchen window, wearing similar expressions of horrified fascination.

"I smell coconut." Terezi voices her concerns with deep suspicion. She is unnecessarily bundled in at least three horrifying holiday sweaters, a cap, and a pair of mismatched mittens (courtesy of one Rose Lalonde). Her breath intermittently fogs the glass. Karkat can't lean as far as she can over the kitchen sink, and after a minute of frustrated grumbling, drags a chair up to stand on.

"More shitty Earth weather," he comments with half-hearted vitriol. "It's a miracle any species finds this planet inhabitable, with temperatures this consistently low."

Terezi pouts in agreement- the cold has been less kind to her and the rest of the blue-blooded trolls than it has been to Karkat, Sollux and Aradia. Ever since arriving in New York, her usual level of activity has been reduced by frequent bouts of torpor. She and Kanaya have all ready spent half the day directly in front of the fire in the living room. There hasn't been much of a noticeable change in Gamzee's behavior, but Karkat keeps an eye on him just the same- out of the lot of them, he's the most susceptible to the cold.

Before he can advise against it, Terezi's tongue is pressed to the glass. She licks a long, wet strip along the pane as Karkat looks on mild disgust. When she pulls away, her expression is thoughtful. "It's like sugar!" She grins.

" _It's like a death omen._ " Karkat groans, and buries his face in the sleeves of his borrowed university hoodie (under no circumstances could even John, in his ineffable holiday cheer, convince Karkat to don his holiday sweater).

"Hey, you guys, I'm gonna need to use the sink!" John warns, straining to lift a hot pot from the stove. Karkat scrambles to move his chair out of John's way as Terezi returns to her spot at the kitchen island, where a plate of painstakingly frosted gingerbread men has been steadily declining. She promptly bereaves a fresh one (modeled lovingly in the countenance of Sweet Bro) of its head. The rest of its appendages swiftly follow.

John steadily pours the pot's contents into the strainer below it, steam billowing up and around him and completely obscuring the window in a vapory fog. "Karkat, did you finish grating the cheese like I said?"

Karkat settles back into his seat at the table with a scowl, and picks up the abandoned cheese grater. "John," He begins accusingly, "It's _raining fucking ice_ outside. Lalonde drags us up to this deity-forsaken patch of-" (gesticulates helplessly for a moment,) " _trees_ , and it's raining ice."

John blinks, turns his attention to the storm outside the window. "It just looks like snow to me," He replies as he strains the pasta. "If it was hailing out, you'd be able to hear it, anyhow- wait." And he pauses with realization, "You guys don't have snow?"

Terezi swallows and brushes away the gingerbread crumbs all down her front. "Alternia had perfectly normal liquid precipitation." She licks at an index finger thoughtfully. "Usually."

"And rarely, at that." Karkat adds, his focus momentarily diverted from cheese-grating to watching her sort of more intently than polite conversation warrants. Terezi flashes him a manic grin and lobs a cookie at his head, with laudable accuracy. Karkat swears and furiously brushes Hella Jeff fragments from between his horns.

"Keep in mind, John, the apparent proximity of Alternia to its sun," Rose breaks in smoothly, pulling a casserole dish from the oven, "It is highly likely its atmosphere was a good deal thinner than Earth's own."

"Oh, right." John frowns, scratching his chin, and breaks into a worrying smile. "Oh, man, I can't believe this! So this is the first time you've ever seen snow?"

"And hopefully the last," Karkat grumbles, and thinks longingly of Jade's warm, secluded little island.

John rolls his eyes. "Come on, Karkat. Playing in the snow is a lot of fun! You can build snow forts, and snow men, and have snow ball fights, and tons of other stuff. I was hoping we could all do that stuff together sometime this week! Aren't you at least curious?"

"No." The troll insists stubbornly, eyes narrowed.

John's looking just a little crestfallen, and opens his mouth for what is undoubtably a good deal of coercive whining, and what will also undoubtably escalate into a senseless argument, when Rose lays her hand on his shoulder.

"Dave, Jade and I will be more than happy to join you in frivolous snow-day revelry." She says gently. They exchange a look, and John snaps his mouth shut with a disappointed little frown. She brushes past him to the silverware drawer and begins to rummage around for spoons.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't look as if the storm is letting up anytime soon. The firewood will have to be moved to the garage before it ends up buried in a snow drift. Admittedly, it's a bit of a task…" She smiles and turns to address Terezi and Karkat. "I would ask Jade and Dave, but they set out for a walk with Becquerel a few minutes ago."

Karkat's mouth twists, but it appears he cannot, in good conscience, outright refuse such a rational request from his host. "Can't you wait until they get back?" He mumbles.

"I suppose," Rose replies, "Though the snow will be thicker then. Anyhow, you'll have to step outside at some point, wont you? I assure you, the chances of your perishing along the way are fairly slim."

"… I dunno." Terezi begins slyly around a mouthful of gingerbread, "I might need a little more persuasion."

"There will be hot cocoa waiting for you when you finish." Rose says, most persuasively. The troll's interest is immediately piqued.

Terezi seriously considers the offer. "Ok. I want mine with lots of marshmallows."

" _Terezi_." Karkat whines, voice thick with betrayal.

"You can have as many marshmallows as you want," Rose promises.

"I want it filled to the brim with marshmallows." She asserts plainly, "And a candy cane."

"Certainly." Rose seals the agreement.

"Excellent!" She cackles delightedly, and slips from the barstool back to the floor. Karkat can only look on bewilderedly and stumble after her as she snatches up his wrist and drags him from his seat.

Most of their winter-wear has been tossed into a disorganized pile by the front door. They're all borrowed- the trolls have no use for heavy coats and mittens on Jade's island, but Rose and John have plenty to spare from years past. Terezi tosses an unmatched pair of gloves at Karkat's face, one of Kanaya's many scarves, and a fleece Hello Kitty hat (the origins of which are still unknown). She squeezes herself into something bright red and puffy while Karkat makes do with a garishly orange ski jacket.

The moment the door swings open, they're hit by a frigid gale of air that sends snowflakes swirling down the hall. Karkat grimaces and makes an attempt to conceal his ears with the flaps of his hat before Terezi pulls him into the yard. The bluster dies down a little once they're outside, and the chill isn't nearly as bad. There isn't more than a fine dusting of a couple centimeters beneath their boots.

Terezi stops abruptly and, predictably, sticks out her tongue. Karkat makes a face. "Ugh, don't _do that_!"

"Hwhy not?" Terezi retorts, making no move to withdraw her extended tongue.

"You don't know whether this shit evaporated from acid lakes or something," He objects lamely.

Terezi snorts. "Earth weather isn't nearly as volatile as Alternian weather, Karkat. Also, I don't think Jade was being literal about the acid rain!"

"Fine." He relents dubiously, folding his arms across his chest as he watches her dance about the yard. "Now put that thing back in your mouth before it freezes solid and we have to amputate it."

Terezi chooses to ignore Karkat's warning. After another minute, she stops very suddenly, retracting her tongue, and shivers from head to toe. " _Hehehe._ " She giggles lowly, grin victorious, "Karkat, try one!"

"No thanks," He scowls half-heartedly, bowing his head and holding himself tighter against a gust of snow.

" _Wig-gler_ ," Terezi sing-songs, and after a moment, Karkat begrudgingly sticks out his tongue, just half an inch.

He gets more than he bargained for when another short gust coats it with _several_ snowflakes. Karkat spits on reflex, nose wrinkling, while Terezi laughs at his expense.

"What did you taste?" She demands.

"Ice." Karkat replies, deadpan. "And, like…. dust."

Terezi shoots him a disappointed frown, hands on her hips. "Try again." She instructs, and Karkat sighs resignedly in the way of one much accustomed to putting up with Weird Synesthesia Crap. He closes his eyes.

"Um. Maybe. Ablution flakes."

Terezi, who at some point has made her way to stand beside him, gives him a light thwap on the shoulder. Her smile is toothless and genuine and a little bit wistful. "You don't have to pretend."

Karkat takes one look at her and actually looks frustrated with himself. "Sorry," He says lowly, "I don't think I've really got the… knack for it."

"Well…" Terezi is pensive; she looks at Karkat for a long moment before wrapping one of her mitten-constricted hands around one of his. "We'll just have to keep trying!" She says encouragingly, and yanks Karkat's hat down over his eyes.

Karkat emits a noise of surprise not unlike something you'd hear from a small (adorable) animal. "Terezi, _damn it_!" He makes a semi-blind swipe for her coat as she darts deftly out of his reach. By the time he has his hat settled snugly about his ears again, she's half-way across the yard, turning the corner of the house.

"I found the woodpile!" She calls, and sure enough, there it is, stacked neatly against the side of the house. Once Karkat's caught up, he weighs a log in his hand and takes a moment to scrutinize the obscenely flawless cut of Mr. Strider's handiwork. One would think that a katana was not exactly ideal for cutting wood. One would think.

Terezi piles a few more pieces into Karkat's arms before loading her own, and nudges him in the direction of the garage. There is an absolutely preposterous amount of firewood sitting out here- at least eighty pieces- and by the third trip back Karkat is all ready in Full Complaint Mode.

"Insufferable asshole probably did this on purpose," He growls, arms straining under what is nearly twice the amount of firewood Terezi has gathered for herself, "Fucking showoff. Like half of this wood is even necessary, it's not like centralized heating is a thing that stopped existing."

Terezi shrugs amiably- she and both Striders are on phenomenal terms, much to Karkat's dismay. "Another one of Strider's mysterious training exercises!"

"Training exercises, my bulge. Between that guy and Lalonde's lusus there's enough narcissism in this hive to cloud the air. It's disgusting." Karkat spits, "And another thing- there's a fine line between 'training exercises' and 'tossing your charge off a five story building in a poor attempt at simulating natural selection', which-"

A sharp, echoing _cccccrrrr-ACK_ splits the silent night air. Karkat and Terezi startle; both piles of wood hit the ground simultaneously. Terezi's sword cane is in her hands, one arm thrust out in front of Karkat as he instinctively presses closer to her back, sickle in hand. They stand there, tense, cautious, waiting, for a full five seconds before Karkat spots the severed tree branch in the leaf-less brush at the edge of the woods.

Karkat looks vaguely ashamed of himself, and Terezi gives a sheepish little giggle before lowering her weapon. Old habits die hard, and it isn't as if hellmurder island is the most hospitable place to live at times. The most threatening creatures the back woods around Rose's house have to offer are deer, and not even the fanged kind.

Karkat hastily clears his throat and detaches himself from Terezi, turning away and bending down to retrieve his firewood. He can't fool Terezi's keen nose- he's flushed to the ears, a veritable beacon amidst the drab browns and grays and whites of the snowy landscape. "Don't worry, Karkat," She comments teasingly, "I'll protect you from the rogue earth fauna."

Karkat groans. "Just… don't. Mention this. To anyone. Ok?" And when Terezi just grins, he adds, "…Please?"

"Karkat, the first time you met Dave and Rose you were crying all over Gamzee's shirt, and then you had a panic attack." She reasons, shifting her wood from one arm to the other, "Whatever illusion of dignity you've since striven to maintain is flimsy at best. However, I will honor your wishes!"

"Oh, shut up." He grouses defeatedly, shoving her in the arm.

It takes them another twelve trips (and three mishaps, and what feels like two broken toes) to get to the last seven logs of firewood. Terezi has slowed down considerably and is looking a little less spry than she had forty minutes ago. Karkat shoots her a look of veiled concern when it gets to be too much to conceal the chattering of her teeth.

"… One more to go." He reminds her, as encouragingly as he can without hurting her pride, and then adds as an afterthought, "Thank god. I'm freezing my ass off out here." Which, despite the embellishment, isn't a lie.

She stands off to the side and nods somewhat listlessly, arms hugging her chest, as Karkat sifts through the pile. He consciously takes the largest four for himself and proffers the remaining three to Terezi, who takes them reluctantly and without comment.

"I want my cocoa." She gripes after she half tosses, half sets the last three logs on to the pile in the garage, and heads for the door. Luckily, Rose's timing is impeccable. The moment they set foot in the hall again, shedding damp articles of clothing on to the floor and trailing puddles into the kitchen, there are two mugs of cocoa waiting for them there on the table.

For the most part, save for the ham they're waiting on in the oven, dinner seems to be done. Mr. Egbert and Mrs. Lalonde have taken over the kitchen for dubious additional 'food preparation' purposes, so Terezi and Karkat abscond with their cocoa to the living room. Sollux is huddled beneath a blanket on the couch, poring over a husktop with the concentration of a bomb squad guy, and Karkat knows better than to bother him.

Anyhow, Terezi is dragging him down to the floor, on the rug in front of the fireplace, to bask reverently in its warmth. She sets her mug aside on the coffee table (easily distinguished from Karkat's own, given the candycane and the mountain of marshmallows threatening to fall over the brim), and proceeds to bowl him over on to his back.

Karkat squawks indignantly as she sprawls atop him, arms encircling his waist. " _Terezi_ ," He warns uncertainly, but the only other person in the room is Sollux, and one glance in his direction earns him an exasperated eye-roll.

"Yeah, ok. I can tell when I'm not wanted." He grumbles good-naturedly, snapping the lid of his husktop shut and toting it away down the hall. Karkat squirms a little once he's departed, dislodging his arm from beneath Terezi.

"Don't move. You're warm." She orders with a contented sigh.

"You're a heat sink." He replies, without vehemence.

"Too bad." She buries her chocolate and peppermint-smeared face in his chest.

"Ugh. Do I look like a napkin? That crap's never gonna come out of this, and it's not even _my_ sweatshirt-"

Terezi idly reaches out a hand and _pap_ 's him on the cheek. "Shoosh."

"Hey. That doesn't work for you." He protests obstinately, "That only works for Gam _mmpphh_ -"

As Terezi pulls back and flops down against his chest again, Karkat blinks and licks away the residual stickiness of peppermint and chocolate.

"That works for me." She says smugly, and Karkat cannot disagree. He settles his arms tentatively around her back and closes his eyes.

The moment John walks in to collect them for dinner, she hikes up his sweatshirt and blows a wet raspberry into his stomach.


End file.
